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Old 02-18-2012, 08:48 AM   #5
Arctic Traveller
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City: Juneau Alaska
Vessel Name: Arctic Traveller
Vessel Model: Defever 49 RPH
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 607
RE: Digital dehumidifier

Quote:
Dougcole wrote:

I'll try the UPS, can I get that from Radio Shack maybe?
No doubt you can get one there, but realize your trying to run a compressor motor off a little battery, it won't last more than a few minutes unless it's a very large one.* Better to hook up an inverter to your house batteries, but beware that some digital controls won't like anything but a true sine wave inverter.* Our modified sine wave inverter cooked two control boards on our de-humidifier before I realized the problem.* Now I just run it off shore power and check on it as often as possible.*

If you install a true sine wave inverter things should be fine, but if the power is off for a long time, it will completely discharge the batteries.* When power is restored the inverter will recharge the batteries, but it may draw enough current on the AC side that additional other loads (like the de-humidifier) will blow the shore power circuit breaker.* The ability to regulate the charging current will allow you to reduce the AC draw though.

Ultimately, there's no substitute for checking on the boat as often as possible........Arctic Traveller

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